Bodog Beat

Patrick Pinkney and East Carolina host Houston this Saturday. (AP Images)

You don’t beat Virginia Tech and West Virginia without a talented team. But any talk of a BCS bowl for the East Carolina Pirates is done. The Pirates fell out of the coaches poll after dropping a 30-24 overtime decision at North Carolina State. Losing starting linebacker Quentin Cotton to an injured knee was bad enough; starting left tackle Stanley Bryant is also out indefinitely, and his absence is even more troubling for East Carolina.

The good news for East Carolina (3-1 SU, 2-2 ATS) is that it’s time once again for conference play in Conference USA. Next up: the Houston Cougars (1-3 SU, 0-3 ATS), who were pummeled by their non-con opponents in the first month. The Cougars will be sizeable home dogs against the Pirates on Saturday; the Pirates are 5-1 ATS in their last six against Houston, although the Cougs were big chalk the last two meetings. I’ll stick with ECU for now. Get all your NCAA College Football Odds in the Bodog Sportsbook today!